lower your taxes, give away books

April is nearing the end. Are you being a good Malaysian? Have you filed in your tax forms?

Among other things, we can lower our taxes - or at least get back our pre-paid PCBs, by buying books (and magazines). You can get tax deduction by claiming up to RM1,000 expenditure on books and magazines. That's a big sum, and could lower by quite an amount from your taxable income. When it comes to taxes, a ringgit is a hefty sum, isn't it?

Even if you don't enjoy reading books, once in a while you'd buy a copy or two of magazines to kill time while waiting for someone, school books for your children, yada yada yada...

Or, you could buy books as gifts. C'mon, you do give away presents to someone, right? While it may be nice to buy those small things your loved ones have been hinting on you all-year, giving away books would work for you, too. It's a win-win thingy. You'll not only enrich someone's life (great people reads, and leads), you'll also be doing yourself a favour. Everyone would be happy, because of you.

Err... here's a list of books that I want this year. Well, at least one of them.

http://www.bike-maintenance.com/maintenance-books.htm

Make my day. Save the receipt(s) for next April (and make your day, then).

new blog for cycling adventure

my main intention for having 'typed thoughts' is to publish my rants on whatever is on my mind, with occasional photos from time to time.
of late, there were many posts on my cycling adventure.
so today, i've created a blog for that. all cycling related posts in here have been transfered to:

www.akmalbikepark.blogspot.com

all dates are retained, but sadly i can't transfer the comments on the posts to the new blog.
so i'm keeping those posts in here still.

GT Avalanche 3.0 17" Hardtail

Not yet completed, but I'm posting it anyhow for I'm sooooo happy with the outcome.

Haven't bought the FD yet (thinking of LX or Deore).

So until then, the chain is not fixed yet.

I like the colour scheme: white - black - grey - and a hint of gold.

 

Original plan was to have this hardtail for myself (thus the 17" frame).

I decided to build this bike for Naza, and I'll have the Schwinn Mesa instead.

 

Naza's Schwinn Mesa

Only this morning i managed to snap photos of Naza's Schwinn Mesa.

Currently I'm building another hardtail. When it's finished, I'll swap that with her Mesa.

 

Oh, and that's Johnny the cat. He accompanied me while I was busy over the nights building this bike.

 

cycled to work!

inspired by BC Kelolo and Yusof's bike-to-work experience, i finally gathered all strength to cycle to work yesterday (see "what are you looking at/for II - cycling").
by 'all strength', i mean mental (most important) and physical.
it doesn't have to be a day-to-day fare. it could be a saturdays-only recreation.

i chose saturday to cycle to work because:
1. not much traffic
2. it's not a school day - no need to pick up my daughter from school

basically, those two were the main things halting my plans to cycle to work. although there's another one, i chose to ignore it: cycling home in the hot afternoon (saturday being a half day).

there are enough reasons for me to cycle to work.
the obvious ones are the usual - save petrol, being green, health benefits, etc.
other than those, these are the things that i have at the office to support my cycling to work:
1. shower
2. shelter (use the pantry just beside the office to store the bike safely)
3. air-conditioned office (phew, alhamdulillah!)
4. saturdays are dress-down days - no need to wear pressed shirts and slacks in the office

perhaps it would make it easier if i cut my hair real short a la prisonheads - no need to worry about my hair, should i ever don't have the time to shower. just change to collared t-shirts and spray a li'l bit of perfume.

i used naza's bike as it is lighter than my t-bolt, and wouldn't make a front page news. her bike is not equipped with a meter, so no stats of the ride. a rough estimate of yesterday's ride time to work: 35 minutes. i originally thought it would take me 50 minutes. coming home, i didn't bother to gauge the time. happily spinning home under the hot sun (pant! pant!).

this inspires me to cycle to work every working saturday (2nd, 4th and 5th of the month). and, to build myself a hardtail for that.
heh heh heh...
;)

roll of honour

here's a list of names - people who helped me in building my first bike from ground up.
I'd like to thank you all.

In no particular order:
Apis - my brother. Got the stem, seatpost, wheelsets and v-brake bosses for front brake.
Hj. Ali - sold me the frame and headset, with seatpost clamp thrown in for free.
Zulhisham - sold me the crankset with pedals extremely cheap. Also for getting me the v-brakes. i appreciate it very much, bro!
BC Kelolo - wisdom, knowledge, tips and tricks, insight, and v-brake bosses for rear brake. Oh, and the teh tarik.
Ron - thru BBS sold me the FD, RD, shifters, cassette and chain. Delivered to me, some more.
Ah Meng - from Glenmarie. sold me the brakes with lever cheap2 one.
the bike building really started from those.
Pyan - thru BBS sold me the fork.
Auntie - bike shop in Tmn U. Well, I paid for the tires and other bits. Included in the honor roll because she gave me discounts.

what are you looking at/for II (cycling)

i'm very much into cycling nowadays.
because of that, i think, everything i see is about bicycles.
i noticed that i my head would turn whenever i see a pedaling machine, whatever kind it is.
this scares me a bit.

on the other hand, i think, cycling is picking up pace in Malaysia.
a few days ago, a newspaper covered about Bernard Chandran. It was also highlighted that one of his passion is cycling. the fact that he owns a rm24k bike is another thing, though. the main thing is that people takes up cycling. doesn't matter if it is for weekend foray offroad, or riding to work.

well, in the topic of celebrity cyclist:
there are three more i know of:
azlee senario, the comedian (owns a bicycle shop in tambun, perak).
riezman khuzaimi, the actor (also selling bike parts online).
haliza misbun (rides mountain bike, as well as roller blading, etc.).

well, i'd like to think that cycling is picking up pace and as a guy said it: it makes sense as an alternative transport.
obvious benefit to your health, and wealth.
read more here:
www.kelolo.blogspot.com
http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2007/6/13/central/17949987&sec=central

nite ride - danga bay

(l to r):zudi, akmal, isaac. not in picture (taking photo): yad.
the ride started from plentong.
route: plentong - permas jaya - bridge - bakar batu - pasir pelangi - stulang darat - ring road - dataran bandaraya johor bahru - lido coastal line - danga bay.
had supper at a stall in jln sungai chat before going back.
going back: danga bay - bukit serene - ring road - stulang darat - taman pelangi - bakar batu - bridge - permas jaya - plentong.


roughly started from plentong at 9.30pm, reached dataran around 10.15pm. danga bay around 10.30pm.
nobody has a meter attached, nor taking the time of the ride.
so, no stats other than that.

Naza’s bike – completed!

I was on mc for today and yesterday – eyesore. I don’t really know from whom I got it.

Anyway, it was kind of a blessing in disguise because I can finish off with Naza’s bike – dialing in the derailleurs.

I had no big problems in setting up the derailleurs. It was done quite fast, really.

The bike for my wife completed yesterday evening.

Hmmm... should I build a hardtail for myself, next?

Building Naza’s Bike II

I went to work with Naza’s bike last Friday, until way past midnight.
This time I wanted to finish off with the shifters. I tried to cut the cable housing with a normal cable cutter for electrical wiring jobs. It was a futile attempt, and I made a mess out of the cable housing. Uh oh, I really need a bicycle cable cutter, and just in case, a new shifter cable.

Oh well…

I’ve got an idea what to do with the wheelset’s rims. I filed out the valve holes with a set of small files, legacy of my late father-in-law. Thanks Abah.
Bit by bit, the valve holes are filed bigger to accept Schrader valves on my inner tubes. It worked pretty well. Both tires were in place, and wheelsets completed.

Last Saturday, Yad – my office mate, asked me to bring him to a bike shop - window shopping for a new bike. He’s keen on taking up cycling again. As I am babysitting my kids, I brought them along to Auntie’s bike shop in Taman Universiti, Skudai.
Yad brought along another office mate, Isaac, and Dafi.
Next, we went to Md Noor’s mother’s shop in Tampoi. Not much different, really. At least now they know the place.

Yad asked me to take a look on his steel bike. He had that bike since he was in form 4, and never been serviced. That was the first time I’ve seen a Shimano Biopace crankset.
Anyway, the major problem with that bike was the sluggish crankset.
With the bike tool at hand, I started working. Much of it was guesswork, really. Surprisingly, the bike tool is quite complete to do the job. And many were used for the first time, working on Yad’s crankset. I took off the bottom bracket (bb). It appeared that the bearing housings had broken into pieces, and the grease inside the bb had hardened into gunk. The best step forward is to get a new pair of ball bearings with races to replace the old ones. Job done and new knowledge gained.

I’ve got the v-brake bosses from BC on Monday in KL, over teh tarik in front of his office building. He agreed to give me those for free (thanks, bro!) under one condition: repay him by doing deeds to fellow bikers. I gladly told him that they are already paid in full last Saturday.

Yesterday I bought the cable cutter from a hardware shop in Masai. It was gathering dust, and tagged at rm45. The shopkeeper offered at rm40 (which is normal, by the way). Knowing that it hasn’t moved for quite some time, I asked for rm35 - and got it! That very same night, I tried the cutter with the cables. It cuts beautifully, both the cable and the housing.

I worked on the rear brake straight away. Cable cut into lengths, and bosses put into place. V-brakes hung, and cable tightened. The rear wheel is quite bent. It took me some time to adjust the brake pad positions.

Installation of the rear derailleur was quite straightforward, really. I think, that’s the beauty of SRAM’s derailleurs. The front derailleur is actually a Shimano Alivio. That too, was quite easy to install. Anyway, it was really way too late to finish up with the derailleur setting.

But as of last night (technically early morning today), Naza’s bike is complete. Took a spin, and stowed it away nicely beside my T-Bolt.

Went off to sleep (the few hours of it) feeling very happy.

83.6 km/h on a bike!

Panjang's 83.6 km/h max speed reading.

Beat that!

seri alam ride 8th June 2008

start from restoran ruza in nusa damai.

• tarmac
• trail
• tasik
• titi
• tower pencawang
• trail again
• turun bukit

photo credits: shahrin a.k.a. melake.

thanks, man.

 

 

proton t-bolt

Yes, you're reading it right. This mountain bike is from Proton.

Well, can be said as a Malaysian product.

Albeit, none of the parts that came with it is made in Malaysia - except perhaps those Shimano components if they were churned out of Pekan Nanas factory.

The body is a monocoque carbon fibre - thus the burly profile. It is actually an EPX Australia design.

 

I got the frame secondhand from Hood thru BBS - with the plush Fox Float R rear shock.

The frameset comes with Shimano Deore LX front derailleur (E-type) and FSA Orbit XL II sealed bearing headset.

Thrown in for free WTB saddle, UMF seatpost, WTB grips and the assembly service.

Handlebar and stem taken from Apis' bike.

Assembled in Putra Heights by bro Yazid.

All at a very good price. Awesome!

Added a little bit more for Shimano Deore LX drivetrain (crankset, cassette, chain, rear derailleur and Deore shifters), Tektro mechanical disc brakes with Deore XT levers, and RST Omega Air-assist fork.

Had to hunt for the wheelset, and got myself Mavic 719 rims with Formula hubs and stainless steel black spokes.

The tires are Maxxis Larsen TT 26/1.9 (front) and Panaracer FireXC Pro 26/2.1 - complete wheelset from Yong's bike shop in Sungai Way.

 

This bike is quite special for me, although it is a used unit.

The journey of making it into a complete bike took me to many places. In the process, I made many friends in mtb circle of brotherhood.

The most precious of all I guess is the knowledge and tips siphoned out from those bros.

nite ride: jln tun razak - titiwangsa

here's the reading for last night's ride:
ride: 17.3km
ave: 20kmh
max. speed: 35kmh
route - the forum (jalan tun razak) - taman tasik titiwangsa - the forum

not a long ride, just to see the functionality of my new meter.
:)

got my meter!

I've wanted one of those for years.
It's a bike meter. Or cyclocomputer, in bike geek lingo.
A Cateye Velo8, for rm58 from Zaidi aka mr.beskal thru BBS.
Apart from the cool appearance of having a digital gizmo on my cockpit, the real reason for it is to gauge how I'm doing on the bike.
Here's the functions that it boasts:
Current speed
Maximum speed
Average Speed
Trip distance
Odometer
Clock
Elapsed Time
Calorie Consumption

If you took the time to count, they are 8 functions altogether (hence the name Velo8... duhh!)

retracing the past

Through my yahoogroup, i received the article below.
On a personal level, i find it very true.
My posts starting around 12 months ago are about recollecting my past hobbies.
To name a few: cross-stitching, cycling and lego.
All those are hands-on hobbies - making something tangible out of my time.
And no, they do not give me stress - just simple pleasures. What hobbies are meant to be, in the first place.

As for this blog, I send posts for my kids and myself. I'm sure there'll be some use later in life.
__________________
It's knitting needles you want, not iPhones
As adults discover Facebook and Second Life, the cool kids are realizing that one reality is enough for anyone
By Rupert Steiner
Published: 18 November 2007
Britons might be the "social networking" champions of Europe but new research being used by some of the world's largest firms shows a backlash against Facebook and mobile phones in favour of what's being called "analogue living".

Young people, under pressure to communicate through so many media channels, still crave their gadgets, but also want some low-tech time out and one-dimensional products.

Pub chains have started re-installing black and white televisions; mobile telephone manufacturers are making handsets that just make phone calls; stressed-out executives are heading to craft fairs, and adult spelling-bee events have become big business in America.

Firms such as Procter & Gamble, Virgin, Nike and Diageo are being told the future is in back-to-basics designs, simplified packaging and linking up with events that used to be totally "uncool".

The findings come in D-Code, an annual study produced by Henley Centre Headlight Vision (HCHV), a strategic consultancy owned by the advertising giant WPP, which tracks youth culture. Due out at the end of November, the study is considered the manual for future trends. It forms the basis for brand campaigns and new product launches at leading multinationals.

HCHV's chairman, Crawford Hollingworth, says this year's findings were unexpected: "Young people's circuits are overloaded. They can't keep on top of their email, surf their Facebook, handle their Second Life avatar and upload their Flickr. They find all this technology that is designed to connect them is in fact disconnecting them. They are actually in multimedia meltdown."

The result is a knee-jerk reaction towards the less sophisticated, as young people seek temporary salvation from the cutting edge. They are being driven to activities reminiscent of their childhood and more familiar with their parents' generation. Out goes MySpace, PS2s and iPhones, and in comes knitting clubs, craft fairs and cloud appreciation societies.

London's Notting Hill Arts Club hosts a weekly craft night where young people congregate to drink tea, listen to music and knit together. They find creating something tangible and the sense of nostalgia relaxing.

Others are shunning eBay for some low-tech trading in second-hand garments, swapping unwanted clothes on the dance floor of a London nightclub. At the sound of a klaxon, party-goers at the monthly Swap-A-Rama Razzmatazz night at Favela Chic in London's Shoreditch place something they are wearing on a washing line strung across the dance floor.

They then put on an item left by someone else, and end the evening leaving in an entirely different outfit. The trick is not to start the night wearing your finest from Prada.

"This is a backlash to auction sites on the web," explains Liz Chernett, co-editor of D-Code. "It is a playful way to get rid of unwanted clothes – everyone has clothes in perfect condition they never wear. People live in such fast-paced, stressed lifestyles, with fixed definitions of success and an expectation to succeed.

"There is this need to have a counterbalance to stress and anxiety, and this is an antidote to new tech and new media. Young people are looking at the pastimes from their youth when they didn't live with the same pressures and responsibility."

And they are not the only ones benefiting from the trend – big business is cashing in with analogue products and campaigns aimed at connecting with the back-to-basics consumer.

Absolut Vodka recently launched a television commercial featuring hundreds of protesters in a stand-off with heavily armoured police. When one of the rioters hurled a cushion over the police line, the crowd erupted into a pillow fight on a scale of children's dreams all to promote the drinks company's "In an Absolut World" campaign.

There has also been a rash of print advertisements that involve Blue Peter-style do-it-yourself activities. Sports giant Puma promoted its new Train Away clothing and trainers kit with an advertisement comprising perforations that when separated made hundreds of tiny numbered cards. Put together in order, these formed a flip book that gave the illusion of a runner in Puma gear. This marketing approach was aimed at engaging with the consumer.

But it is not just commercials – the theme has even migrated to do-it-yourself products. Trendy footwear maker F-Troupe created a limited-edition assemble-your-own moccasin.

"Some of the world's biggest brands are tapping into this," says Ms Chernett. "Others are bringing out products with retro design and packaging with a low-tech look. But this is not a fight against technology – youths want to be at the leading edge, but they also need a time for back to basics, where analogue living provides some respite."

The trend is not limited to Britain. Americans have taken the shift to another extreme. In New York there is a cloud appreciation society where groups of adults get together and lie in a park looking at clouds and discussing the different shapes.

In Canada, the Retro Brewing Company has differentiated itself by adopting 1950s styling. Beer is delivered in an old school milk truck and the in-house bar is fitted with a black and white television.

In previous D-Codes, companies were told to associate their products with crime or criminals. This was because public attitudes towards immoral behaviour had softened so much that poster campaigns based around figures such as the Krays gave a product "criminal kudos".

This year's report is more about times gone past, and the only criminality firms will need to embrace is to steal some ideas from yesteryear.

polygon xtrada

This is my mtb.
An imported 24-speed Polygon Xtrada. It's imported from Indonesia, that is. Bought it secondhand from a friend's friend for a few hundred. Would cost me RM900+ brand new. For now, I'm not ready to fork out that kind of money. Well, I don't have that much, anyway... :)

So far, it's been a good purchase. Although there's a little annoying sound coming from the crankset. I suspect that the crank is a bit hammered. Anyway, for the sum I paid, there's nothing much to complain, really.

Well, here's the spec:
Frame: Aluminium 6061
Fork: Polygon
Handlebar & Stem: Polygon
Headset: Ritchey
Grips: Tioga (upgrade)
Saddle: Selle Royal Energy
Seatpost: Polygon Alloy
Drivetrain: SR Suntour Crank, Shimano C050 FD, Altus RD
Controls: Shimano Brake + Shifter combo
Brakes: Front - Tektro IO Mech Disc, Rear - Tektro V-Brake
Wheelset: Araya rims, Shimano hubs, Kenda Kwick 26/1.95 tires